Cost of Ingredients

We are almost out of freeze-dried beef chunks, beef crumbles, chicken and turkey, so I went online to take advantage of sales. Couldn't believe the prices! How much did I really spend last year when I got all of the meats plus other ingredients, like artichoke powder?

Money is really tight this year. Lots of medical problems, surgeries, and more. Can't afford to restock our meats. So what shall I do?

I hit the grocery store.

• Cans of chicken and other meats now reside in our pantry. Including Spam (hubby's choice, not mine!)
• We already had lots of tiny and whole grain pasta, instant rice and potato flakes.
• Endless supplies of oats!
• Have lots of spices.
• I had bought, in the Spring, a giant bag of soup veggies from Vitamin Cottage, so in addition to those I dehydrated this past Summer, we're good for veggies.
• Fruits, stocked up from dehydrating and from www.justtomatoes.com

My point is ... if you don't have the money to buy freeze-dried meats, look through your grocery store. Maybe buy some cheap fresh meats, cook and dehydrate according to your dehydrator's instructions.

There IS a way to eat healthy, on a budget, using shelf-stable ingredients.

So tomorrow's dinner...

No, wait! It's my son's birthday tomorrow.

THURSDAY's dinner is chicken noodle soup. Gonna make it in my big crockpot. Easy to take the ingredients to make over a campfire. You'll notice there is no onion in this. Yeah, my son doesn't like onion. I'll add some to mine and hubby's portion.

• 1 can chicken
• 1 box whole wheat rotini
• 1 cup dehydrated soup vegetables
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken bouillon
• 1 tablespoon garlic granules (from Sam's)
• Season to taste (sometimes I add turmeric because it's so healthy).
• Add 4 cups of water. Stir. Heat until pasta is cooked through and al dente / tender.

Enjoy!

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Sorry I haven't been posting regularly. Preparing for an upcoming knee replacement surgery. Please be patient!

MIJ Diet: Lentil and Rice Soup

As my last post mentioned, I decided to help my weight loss along by using Meals In Jars (MIJ), aka Homemade Healthy MREs.

My "diet"  requirements:

• gluten-free
• tasty
• filling
• healthy
• dairy-free (as much as possible)
• low-sugar (pre-diabetic .. although I would rather use raw sugar and honey than asparatame!)
• low-sodium (I have high blood pressure)

So, the other day, I made my go-to dinner for the family: lentil and rice soup. This time, I made it from mostly dehydrated or shelf-stable ingredients.

• Lentils (pre-cooked and dehydrated)
• Rice, Brown (instant)
• Mixed Soup Veggies (I get these at the local Vitamin Cottage)
• Garlic powder (NOT salt)
• Chicken bouillon powder (low sodium)

Because I made this at home, I also added a dollop of bacon grease! I know, not the healthiest choice, but bacon makes otherwise bland meals quite delicious!

To make this yourself, use the same amount for rice as you do with lentils. Add a couple of tablespoons of mixed dried veggies, and season to taste.

VEGAN: eliminate the bacon grease!

MRE RECIPE: Tomato Soup

One of my son's favorite soups (besides chicken noodle!) is Campbell's Tomato Soup. I devised this recipe and I think I'm pretty close. Thoughts?

Ingredients:
4 tbsp tomato powder
1 chicken bouillon cube or 1 tbsp homemade chicken bouillon powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp butter powder

Directions:
Mix and seal. When ready to eat, add 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups boiling water. More if thinner soup is preferred.

This is a single serving as a side dish/soup. To make a full meal out of this, please double the recipe.

Notes:

• Some people prefer a creamy tomato soup. Add 2 tbsp of your favorite milk powder (goat, rice, cow, etc)
• Gluten-free: the best way to make sure the bouillon cube doesn't have wheat, gluten or too much sodium in it is to make your own! Take chicken (or beef) broth and simmer until reduced to very thick. Spread on a fruit roll up sheet and dehydrate until crispy enough to powder.